DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group VII (claims 33-37) in the reply filed on September 17, 2025 is acknowledged. Applicant also noted species election of nickel (Ni) as the transition metal and metal sulfur cluster as the transition metal cluster. Claims 1-32 and 38-43 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. The requirement is deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Claim 37 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim cannot be dependent on a previously present multiple dependent claim (claim 35). See MPEP § 608.01(n).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 33-37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tang et al (Preparation and properties of polymeric conductive nickel complexes of tetrathiafulvalene tetrathiolate ligand Synthetic Metals 97 (1998) 43-46).
Regarding claims 33-34, Tang teaches a coordination polymer comprising repeating coordination complexes comprising a transition metal such as nickel and a tetrathiolate ligand such as tetrathiafulvalene tetrathiolate. (Table 1). Given that Tang teaches that the complexes are in the form of a polymer chain (page 45, section 3.1), the coordination complexes extend in at least one dimension. While Tang does not explicitly state that the tetrathiafulvalene tetrathiolate is tetrathiafulvalene-2,3,6-7 tetrathiolate, it is taken that these are the same compounds as it is the most common form and that Tang is using a common shorthand nomenclature for the same material.
Regarding claim 35-36, Tang teaches that the transition metal nickel is part of a transition metal cluster where the transition metal cluster is a sulfur cluster (this is indicated by the IR spectral data which show the Ni-S vibration of the cluster (Table 3).
Regarding claim 37, Tang teaches that the coordination polymer has a conductivity that is 0.56 (ohm cm)-1 (equivalent to 0.54 S/cm) (Table 1, middle example).
Claim(s) 33-37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Engler et al (US 4,111,857)
Regarding claim 33-37, Engler teaches a coordination polymer poly (nickel tetrathiafulvalene-tetrathiolate) Table 1, with the following structure:
PNG
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70
279
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(Abstract). The repeating coordination complexes extend in one direction, the transition metal is nickel and is part of a transition metal cluster which is a sulfur metal cluster. The polymer has a conductivity of 30 (ohm cm)-1 which is equivalent to 30 S/cm (Table 1).
Conclusion
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DORIS L. LEE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1764
/DORIS L LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764